Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32384055›Full record

Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2020

Usability, Acceptability, and Effectiveness of Web-Based Conversational Agents to Facilitate Problem Solving in Older Adults: Controlled Study.

Matthew Russell Bennion, Gillian E Hardy, Roger K Moore, Stephen Kellett, Abigail Millings

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
29citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

29 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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  18. An Integrative Survey on Mental Health Conversational Agents to Bridge Computer Science and Medical Perspectives.Proceedings of the Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing. Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing · 2023
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Matthew Russell BennionDepartment of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-2318-1468
Gillian E HardyDepartment of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-9637-815X
Roger K MooreDepartment of Computer Science, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-0065-3311
Stephen KellettDepartment of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-6034-4495
Abigail MillingsDepartment of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-7849-6048

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe usability and effectiveness of conversational agents (chatbots) that deliver psychological therapies is under-researched.

objectiveThis study aimed to compare the system usability, acceptability, and effectiveness in older adults of 2 Web-based conversational agents that differ in theoretical orientation and approach.

methodsIn a randomized study, 112 older adults were allocated to 1 of the following 2 fully automated interventions: Manage Your Life Online (MYLO; ie, a chatbot that mimics a therapist using a method of levels approach) and ELIZA (a chatbot that mimics a therapist using a humanistic counseling approach). The primary outcome was problem distress and resolution, with secondary outcome measures of system usability and clinical outcome.

resultsMYLO participants spent significantly longer interacting with the conversational agent. Posthoc tests indicated that MYLO participants had significantly lower problem distress at follow-up. There were no differences between MYLO and ELIZA in terms of problem resolution. MYLO was rated as significantly more helpful and likely to be used again. System usability of both the conversational agents was associated with helpfulness of the agents and the willingness of the participants to reuse. Adherence was high. A total of 12% (7/59) of the MYLO group did not carry out their conversation with the chatbot.

conclusionsControlled studies of chatbots need to be conducted in clinical populations across different age groups. The potential integration of chatbots into psychological care in routine services is discussed.

Indexed as

AgedAged, 80 and overCommunicationFemaleHumansInternetMaleMiddle AgedProblem SolvingResearch Designacceptabilitychatbotsconversational agentseffectivenessmental healthmethod of levelsolder adultssystem usabilitytransdiagnosticweb-based

Identifiers

PMID32384055
PMCPMC7287711

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.